EXPLORE & LEARN ->
Curiosity. Nature. Understanding. Adventure.
Plenteth is more than just a place to stay - it's a place to be curious, ask questions and discover how the world around us works.
Cornwall becomes your classroom.
Learning that comes to life
As a home-educating family, we believe the best learning happens through real experiences - growing things, exploring nature, making things, experimenting and asking lots of questions.
At Plenteth, children and grown-ups can discover some of the ideas we're exploring around renewable energy, food growing, permaculture and caring for the land.
And sometimes the best way to learn is simply to go outside and see what you can find.
Curious about Plenteth?
Come and have a look around...
Plenteth sits within our family's land, which we've been caring for and developing for more than 30 years.
If you're interested in what we're doing here, we'd love to show you around. Guests can ask us for a free informal tour during their stay.
Depending on the season and what's happening on the land, we might explore the food-growing areas, meet the chickens and ducks, look at the swales and ponds, discover useful and medicinal plants, or talk about how we're using permaculture ideas to work with the landscape.
We can also take a look at some of the technology helping to power Plenteth — including our wind turbine and energy-storage system.
There isn't a fixed route or lesson. Bring your questions and we'll see where curiosity takes us.
• Free for guests staying at Plenteth • Just ask us during your stay •
Catch it, Store it, Use it!
A hands-on family energy adventure
Where does energy come from? How can we catch it? Where can we store it — and what happens when we use it?
Join us for a hands-on journey around Plenteth as we follow energy through the natural and human-made world.
We'll investigate how plants capture energy from sunlight, discover how that energy can become food and wood, explore how our wind turbine and solar panels turn natural energy into electricity, and find out how batteries allow us to store energy until we need it.
Along the way we'll use games, experiments and real examples from around Plenteth to follow some surprising energy journeys:
☀️ Sun → plant → food → us → movement
☀️ Sun → tree → wood → fire → heat & light
☀️ Sun → solar PV → electricity → battery → home
🌬️ Wind → turbine → electricity → battery → home
We'll finish by exploring fire and discovering what happens when stored chemical energy is released as heat and light.
The workshop is designed so that children and grown-ups can investigate together, with the science adapted to the ages, interests and questions of the group.
Come prepared to explore, experiment and ask “why?”
Catch It, Store It, Use It!
Who: Families and children of mixed ages
Length: Approximately 60–90 minutes
Where: Around Plenteth and the surrounding land
For: Guests staying at Plenteth and local families interested in learning about energy.
Booking: Arrange with us before or during your stay
Cornwall becomes a classroom
Learning doesn't have to stop at the Plenteth gate.
Cornwall is an extraordinary place for curious families. Rock pools become miniature ecosystems, cliffs reveal millions of years of geology, old engine houses tell the story of Cornwall's mining past, and beaches, woodlands, gardens and harbours are full of things to discover.
Go rock pooling and identify what you find. Hunt for fossils and interesting rocks. Discover why Cornwall was once at the centre of the world's mining industry. Explore castles and ancient sites, watch wildlife, visit incredible gardens or simply follow a coast path and see where it takes you.
For home-educating families, travelling outside the main school holidays also brings another advantage — the freedom to explore Cornwall when many places are quieter.
You don't need to turn your holiday into a lesson plan. Sometimes a question asked on a beach can lead to an entire afternoon of discovery.
Come to Cornwall curious. See where it takes you.
Learning looks a little different here
At Plenteth, we don't believe every question needs a worksheet or every adventure needs a lesson plan.
Sometimes learning is holding something you've never seen before, growing something you can eat, discovering where your electricity comes from, getting muddy, making a fire, watching wildlife — or simply asking “why?”
We want Plenteth to be a place where curiosity is encouraged, where different generations can discover things together, and where families have the time and space to follow their interests.
Come to stay. Come to explore. And see what you discover along the way...